Jinja, Uganda – The Ministry of Nicely being, with strengthen from the World Nicely being Group (WHO) through funding from the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Attend Operations (DG-ECHO), has successfully concluded a weeklong stout-scale simulation exercise aimed toward strengthening Uganda’s emergency nicely being response capabilities.
Held from 14–18 July 2025 in Jinja City, the exercise engaging about the use of the modern Infectious Illness Medication Module (IDTM) for managing viral haemorrhagic fevers, together with Ebola Virus Illness (EVD). The simulation tested the ability of Uganda’s National Emergency Scientific Crew (nEMT) to all of sudden deploy and performance the IDTM for the duration of a simulated outbreak.
The exercise became designed and implemented below the INITIATE² venture, a world partnership sharp WHO, World Meals Programme (WFP), College Scientific institution Tübingen, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), UNICEF, the Makerere College Infectious Ailments Institute, and Africa Centers for Illness Relief watch over.
“Public nicely being emergencies can fast crush the native nicely being methods, necessitating extra strengthen. Fortunately, Uganda has built the national EMT consisting of nicely being workers from diversified substances of the nation, who realize the native context and are readily deployable to strengthen affected communities,” said Dr. Charles Olaro, Director General Nicely being Products and services, Ministry of Nicely being.
Seventy-5 EMT contributors, together with nicely being workers from the Uganda Of us’s Protection Forces (UPDF) and Uganda Police Force (UPF), participated in the simulation. The scenario replicated the detection, investigation, and response to a localized Ebola outbreak and included functional exercises in optimized clinical care, infection prevention and withhold an eye fixed on, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), logistics, psychosocial strengthen, and guarded and dignified burials.
A important ingredient of the simulation became testing the international scientific evacuation protocol, coordinated by WHO groups in Uganda, the African Sigh, and Geneva. The Uganda Police Air Cruise supported the air evacuation the utilization of an epishuttle software.
“This simulation supplied a realistic platform for testing field coordination, clinical operations, logistics, and inter-company collaboration below emergency prerequisites,” said Dr Kasonde Mwinga, WHO Representative to Uganda. “It has also enabled hands-on capacity constructing for Uganda’s Emergency Scientific Crew.”
The national EMT, first established for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 with WHO strengthen, at the moment entails 178 trained nicely being professionals. The team has since replied to outbreaks equivalent to Ebola, mpox and measles. In July 2024, the Ministry of Nicely being popular a national EMT roadmap to book further capacity constructing, aligned with the WHO world EMT initiative.
The simulation exercise underscored the importance of standardized protocols and the need for groups to be on a conventional basis trained on them. It also highlighted the logistical gaps for national Emergency Scientific groups, and the importance of collaborations in addressing these challenges. The success of this simulation highlights Uganda’s rising leadership in nicely being emergency preparedness and the vitality of world
